


Hurry Down the Chimney

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: King's College [10]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Coming Out, Fluff, King's College Series, M/M, henry is trying his best tbh, it's only rated t bc of some of the language, obligatory christmas fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 01:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8825734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: When he heard the gentle “Merry Christmas” he got in response, his jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide as he looked over the figure standing before him.  There, honest to god there in front of him, stood Alex, suitcase at his feet and all bundled up in one of John’s sweaters and the scarf he had gotten him earlier that year.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A preface before any confusion; here are the Laurens siblings' names, nicknames, and ages 
> 
> John (Jack) - 20  
> Martha (Marcy) - 18  
> Henry Jr (Harry) - 14   
> James (Jaz)  - 12  
> Mary Eleanor (Ellie) - 7 
> 
> Obligatory Christmas fic, also the first Christmas fic I've ever written. Hope y'all enjoy!

The semester was coming quickly to a close, and nothing was really how John hoped it would be. He knew it would be tough to leave Alex, but he never could have anticipated how difficult it was really going to be. He had let himself get away with not thinking about it, ignoring the truth in favor of savouring the time they had left together. It was working well in his favor until finals came to a close, and all of his things were packed away. 

 

Alex’s, on the other hand, remained where they were. Untouched. 

 

He was staying for the winter intersession. 

 

John would be back in South Carolina for the entire break.

 

The thought honestly kind of made him sick. 

 

When the time actually came for them to say goodbye, John didn't want to let go. He held tight to Alex, nose pressed against his neck, inhaling the sweet scent that he had grown so used to. Coconut shampoo, jasmine body soap, and… well… Alex. He hoped it would stay on his sweater (he also hoped Alex wouldn't notice that John had stolen one of his sweaters for the same reason). John had told himself he wasn't going to tear up. He knew that was a lie. The second they stepped off the subway platform and into the Howard Beach terminal, John dropped his bags and wrapped around Alex as if the world depended on their embrace. 

 

In that moment, John couldn't be convinced that it didn't. 

 

“It's just over a month, John,” Alex tried to reason with him, but he sounded just as upset. The preemptive loneliness was taking a toll on both of them. “We’ve been apart longer. Besides, the day you fly back, I'll be right here. Waiting for you. I promise.” He whispered, tilting John's jaw so he could catch him in a sweet kiss. 

 

John whined a little, pressing closer. He didn't let go of his shirt. He couldn't. He didn't want to leave. “I know. I just.. it's going to be so strange without you.” He sighed softly and knit his brow, resting their foreheads together. 

 

“I know, sweet thing. I know. It isn't going to be easy on either of us. But this time will fly by. Okay? I love you. Don't be late for your flight.” He warned softly. 

 

John forced himself to smile, knitting his brows a little. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” He murmured and caught him in one more kiss, letting this one linger. “I love you, too. I'll let you know when I'm there. Text me when you get back to our room safely.” He requested gently, still embracing the other. 

 

Alex agreed to his request, and they let their touches keep up as long as they could. When John finally broke away, Alex followed him to the turnstiles. 

 

One final kiss over them once John was through. 

 

A final “I love you.” 

 

John watched Alex walk away.

 

Alex waved goodbye before he was out of sight. 

 

John would be lying if he said he didn't cry on the airtrain to JFK. 

 

~~

 

It wasn't that John didn't love his family, really. It was the opposite. He adored his siblings. Even his father. He respected him, loved him, feared him a little. There was a lot that he and his therapist had been over in regards to their relationship. John tried not to have any hard feelings about it, really. He didn't even realize anything was wrong until he was away from home, hearing stories of other families and watching others interact with their own fathers. Certainly not what he had at home. 

 

He couldn't find it in himself to resent Henry though. He knew he tried. He knew things were difficult once his mother passed away. John couldn't blame Henry for a lot of what happened in that household, the man wasn't meant to be a single father. Everyone knew that. John was pretty sure that deep down, even Henry knew that. 

 

That wasn't the point though. The point was, now, dealing with the awkwardness that every family gathering had with it. He was always happy to see his siblings and his father both. But it was harder now. Now that he knew how family was supposed to be, how all of this was supposed to go. He sighed just a little bit and rubbed his temples as he got off of the plane, looking around the familiar Charleston terminal. He gripped the straps of his backpack so hard that his knuckles went white. He knew his father wouldn’t be the one to pick him up from the airport, he would be too busy. It would be Martha, or they would send someone with one of those shitty little signs, standing by baggage claim and waiting for him. 

He hoped it would at least be Martha. 

 

His siblings were honestly the main reason he was coming home for the holiday. He missed them more than anything. Martha had been his closest friend growing up, especially after the loss of their mother seven years prior. He never much liked to think about it, it was a difficult process losing a parent during childbirth, especially when that resulted in thirteen year old John and eleven year old Martha raising Mary Eleanor, little Ellie. Henry Jr. and James were both too young to help out, Junior being seven at the time, and James being five. John and Martha were surely too young to handle it as well, but they made due, mostly thanks to the nanny who came in while the kids were at school. 

 

John had watched Ellie grow for five years before he shipped himself off to New York. It was one of the hardest things he ever had to explain to her. But she understood, the best a five year old could, when John explained to her that “I’m going away to get smarter. I’ll call you whenever you want and send you presents. And I’ll be home before you know it.” 

Naturally, at the sweet age of five, “presents” was all it took to get her to go along with his plans, thank god. 

 

“Jack!”

 

The sound of a familiar voice at baggage claim shook John out of his nostalgia. When he snapped back to reality, he was met with a girl, barely younger than himself, running towards him at full speed. Her curls, the same as John’s, bounced with every movement, and her eyes sparkled brightly. 

 

“Marcy!” He shouted back and ran towards her as well, all of his nerves melting away the second he saw his younger sister. He caught her easily, dropping his carry on bag in favor of lifting her and spinning her around before squeezing her tight. There weren’t words to describe how happy he was to see her. 

 

The two eldest of the Laurens brood held each other tight, uncaring that they were in baggage claim, caring much less that they were _in the way_. This was important. 

 

“Oh, my god, Jacky, it’s been too long!” Martha whined, her lips immediately pouting out when John set her down. 

 

He laughed and rolled his eyes, ruffling her curls, which had newfound blonde highlights throughout. Nice. “It’s been four months, Marc. Cool down. I was home all summer.” He chuckled. “You gotta share me sometimes, you know.”

 

“Yeah, well, your boyfriend has had you for too long.” She pouted. The second she mentioned it, there was a glimmer in her eyes that John immediately recognized; _I know something you don’t know_.

 

He decided quickly it was better not to question her sneaky smile and just savor the moment, because as quickly as it was there, it was gone, and she was onto the next thing. “The kids are going to be so happy to see you, Jack… Let’s find your bag and get you home.” She smiled and tugged him to the carousel, staying right by his side.

 

It didn’t take long before John leaned back against her, and she gave a contented sigh. 

 

“It’s good to have you home.” 

 

~~

 

 _Happy to see you_ was an understatement. As soon as the door opened, John was on the ground with three of his four siblings on top of him. Martha had the brilliant foresight to take his bags off of him, knowing it would happen the second he stepped foot in the room. He couldn’t even be upset when little Mary Elizabeth--already bigger than she was when he left in August--sat on his chest and grinned a bright grin, even though it lacked a tooth or two. 

 

The boys were off of him as soon as they tackled him, sitting by his side and grinning the same. Nobody could argue that they weren’t related, at least. The only genetic outlier in the Laurens home was, in truth, their father. They all took so much after their mother, John and little Mary Eleanor being the spitting image of her. The other three at least had their father’s deep brown eyes, and Harry lacked the freckles the rest of them sported, but they all had the same smile and bouncy curls as their late mother. John could see how that could be a bit much after losing your wife, for all of your children to look so much like her. 

 

Again, he did what he always had to when he was home, and he shook away the memories of his mother, sitting up and cradling his seven year old sister close to his chest as he kissed all over her cheeks instead of dwelling. 

 

“Hello little Ellie, I’ve missed you.” He cooed, causing the girl to squeal in delight, but still swat him away in embarrassment. 

 

“Jack! I’m too old for that!” She whined, but didn’t fight too hard to get him to stop. She really missed him, so she let it slide in favor of tugging on his shirt. “Come look at my room! Marcy helped me paint!” 

 

John glanced at his sister with a raised brow. They both shared that, for sure, the artistic influences of their mother. He snapped back to reality when she tugged on him again. 

 

“We left one of the walls blank! You gotta paint it for me!” 

 

“Oh really? I gotta, huh?” John laughed and stood, flinging his sister over his shoulder and carrying her upstairs, now squealing to be put down as he promised the boys his undivided attention in just a few moments. He couldn’t resist the offer of an artistic outlet. 

Besides, her little fists pounding on his back didn’t feel too bad after two hours in the middle seat of an airplane. 

 

When they entered her room, John gasped a bit at the sight. The walls were all painted to look like an ocean scene, and the first thing he noticed was Flounder. “Disney, huh?” 

 

“Yeah! I want my favorite movies!” She grinned and scrambled to climb down him, running to point. “Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and…” She made a wide gesture at the empty wall, the only full wall in the room, the only one not housing a closet, window, or door. Just a full, blank canvas for John to run wild with. She bounced on her heels and grinned excitedly. “Moana!” 

 

“Moana?” John laughed a bit and raised a brow. “It’s been out a month.” He commented back to Martha, who grinned. 

 

“Yeah, and we’ve seen it eight times already thanks to the little twerp. She loves it.” Martha leaned in close, detailing all the cute franchise merchandise they had gotten her for Christmas. 

 

John grinned brightly, beginning to comment back before his shirt was tugged at. “I want you to paint that wall like Moana!” He could definitely do that. 

 

“Alright, you’re still in school next week, right?” 

 

She pouted and nodded. “Yeah, but then I’ve got two weeks off for Christmas!” 

 

“Well, I’ve got two more weeks off than you do.” He grinned. “I’ll work on it while you’re at school, okay? And when you’re home with me, you can help. Sound good?” 

 

At least he could work on his portfolio while he was home. 

 

Ellie bounced excitedly and hugged him tight, then grinned. “Thank you, Jacky! Go say hi to the boys before they blame me for takin’ you away.” 

 

“Alright, lil’ angel.” He chuckled and scooped her up again, kissing her forehead before plopping her down onto her bed. He could already hear his accent coming back full force. He ignored that for now, in favor of hugging her one more time before he followed Martha back out to properly greet the boys. 

It really was good to be home. 

 

~~

 

The first week back home was nice. It was the calm before the storm he supposed, a week where he had the days to himself, allowing time to settle in before his siblings were home with him for two. The days were quiet and nice, and he got quite a bit done by the way of Ellie’s room. The evenings were loud, Harry and Jaz getting John to settle in and play videogames with them until Henry came home, at which point they had a nice, quiet dinner, each of them talking about their days. 

 

Every time Henry would bring up John’s schooling, he would do his best to answer within the realm of what Henry would want to hear. He made no mention of anything beyond friendship with Alex. He kept his belly dancing and subsequent lapdancing classes with Laf on the down-low. It was just better that way. He didn’t mind, anyway. The latter wasn’t something he would have even disclosed with his mother. He was content to keep those secrets from his father. He disclosed them almost immediately to Martha though. He trusted her more than anyone. 

 

Anyway. 

 

It was really nice to be home, even though he missed Alex more than words could say. He called him every night once his family was all in bed, knowing that he would be wide awake at all the same godawful hours. It gave him something to look forward to, and it didn’t really matter if he was up all night and asleep most of the day. The first week, he was by himself, so he did whatever he wanted. It was really nice. Relaxing in a way. No work to be done, no expectations to be met. Just John, his paints, his music, and Alex was, most of the time, on his computer screen, Skyping with him and taking screenshots here and there of John at work, grinning over to the screen with his face and hair covered in paint. 

 

They both looked so in love with one another, even when it was just over a tiny little screen. It was beautiful, it was perfect. 

 

Naturally, there was a downside to this. Being apart from Alex physically was sort of taxing. He didn’t really want to think too much about that, but he couldn’t help it. Sleeping in a queen bed alone was… Well, it was disappointing after spending so much time stuffed onto their makeshift shared bed. A queen sized bed was just… Lonely. He shook that thought out of his mind and focused back in completely on Alex, who was still talking a mile a minute about some argument he had gotten into with another student who was staying on campus during break. 

 

John honed in and responded accordingly, but when he heard the door swing open downstairs, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs, he quickly ended the call with Alex. He let him know how much he loved him and missed him, then went back to his family. Back to hiding that aspect of himself from everyone but Martha. 

 

It wasn’t ideal, but it was what he needed to do. 

 

~~

 

The week and a half with his siblings all day seemed to fly by, and next thing he knew, it was Christmas Eve. The family had a nice dinner together, and the kids were sent to bed after each of them opening a present, a new pair of pajamas. Even John and Martha got in on the fun, getting new pajamas for themselves. The kids thanked their elder siblings and their father before they ran off to bed, little Ellie leading them up the stairs in her excitement, so giddy to see what surprises Santa would leave for all of them.

 

None of the Laurens siblings would tell her any differently. 

 

With the tragedy their family had seen, they could believe in Santa as long as they damn well pleased. 

 

Once they were all tucked away, and John had responded to the loud shout of “Come kiss me goodnight, Jack!” from Ellie’s room, the three eldest in the household sat together in silence, watching the fire crackling in the fireplace. 

Henry sipped slowly from his glass of bourbon. Martha nursed a hot chocolate, and John toyed with a candy cane, breaking off little bits of it to keep himself occupied as he watched the flames flicker. Once the clock struck ten, he knew it was safe to get up and begin packing the stockings of the younger ones, standing by the fire as he did. Everything remained calm, silent, comfortable. He could get used to this.

 

Hopefully it would stay like that. 

 

Once the stockings were stuffed, everything in them things that John and Martha had purchased over the past week, the silence was broken by a deep voice. 

 

“Jack,” it said softly, and John turned around to look at the source. He shivered a little bit, bracing himself for whatever could be said. 

 

“Sir?” He said softly, brows knitting a little bit in worry. 

 

“It’s good to have you home.” He said softly, standing and patting his eldest’s shoulder. He didn’t quite smile, but he sounded sincere. John raised his brows, mouth falling slightly open as he stammered for something to say. 

 

“Thank you, sir. It’s good to be home.” 

 

Maybe this holiday wouldn’t be so bad after all.

 

~~

 

Christmas morning was as it always was. John was woken first, an excitable seven-year-old launching herself onto his bed and on top of him, jumping up and down. “Wake up! Jack, Jacky, up! It’s Christmas, and it snowed!!!” 

 

John groaned a little bit and rubbed his eyes. He smiled regardless of how tired he was and scooped the girl up. “It snowed, huh? Let’s go get Marcy and tell her.” He smiled, then shifted her onto his back, where she wrapped around him as she was piggy-backed to their sister’s room. 

Martha, already awake, was sitting at her desk waiting for the arrival of her siblings. She grinned and got up to hug both of them, kissing Ellie’s forehead. “Good morning, you two. Merry Christmas.” 

 

They both returned the affection, and soon they were being pulled downstairs by an excited child. John went immediately for the kitchen, beginning a pot of coffee for the elders, hot cocoa for Ellie, and breakfast for all of them--cinnamon buns, his yearly specialty. Martha went into the sitting room to light the fireplace and the Christmas tree both. Ellie waited patiently at the table once she had her cocoa, and upon their completion, the cinnamon buns were pulled out of the oven and the rest of the family was downstairs with them, exchanging affections and smiles.

 

“So,” John began and smiled. “Presents first? Or breakfast?”

 

“Presents!” Ellie chirped. The boys seemed to agree. Martha and Henry were both indifferent, and John, so long as he had a mug of coffee in his hands, didn’t mind. He hummed and nodded, grabbing their stockings off of the wall as the kids took their respective places on the floor. 

 

John passed around their stockings, setting his own down beside his seat, with Martha’s. Henry never really partook in that tradition, even when his wife was alive. The two of them took more pleasure in watching the children with theirs than they did with their own. Martha’s and John’s were both emptied quicker than the kids’, as they had done them very minimally, mostly just art supplies and the like, a few treats and various little knick knacks of the sort for one another. 

It didn’t slip John’s attention that Martha looked oddly antsy the entire time that they were opening their gifts, checking her phone periodically and sighing. He decided not to mention it, assuming she was waiting on a call or a text from one of her friends, potentially a partner he was unaware of. It was easier to just wait for her to tell him. 

 

Of course, that didn’t seem to be an issue, as she sat upright just around seven-thirty in the morning, beginning to tap her fingers against the arm of the chair, and grinning a little to herself when her phone lit up with a message that John couldn’t see. 

 

Not a moment later, there was a knocking at the door. 

 

The children were confused, but Martha just smiled. Henry stayed aloof to the whole thing, just gesturing vaguely to the door. “Jack, could you?” 

 

“Yessir, of course.” He nodded his head and rolled down the sleeves of his sweater as he got up, knowing the chill of the winter air would be an unpleasant surprise if he didn’t. He yawned quietly as he shuffled to the door, not even bothering to peek outside before he opened it. He didn’t quite look at the person standing before it as he gave a bleary, sleepy “Hello?”

 

When he heard the gentle “Merry Christmas” he got in response, his jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide as he looked over the figure standing before him. 

 

There, honest to god _there_ in front of him, stood Alex, suitcase at his feet and all bundled up in one of John’s sweaters and the scarf he had gotten him earlier that year. 

 

“Alex?” He said softly, disbelieving. He actually reached up to rub his eyes, afraid that this was an illusion that would vanish as soon as he did, but he couldn’t allow himself to keep his hopes up. 

 

“Yeah. Hey..” Alex responded softly and gave a warm smile, unable to say anything else before John wrapped around him, holding him tight and pressing his face to Alex’s neck. Alex laughed softly and held him close, rubbing his back gently. “It’s good to see you too, honey.” He whispered softly. 

 

John didn’t want to pull back, but he had to when he heard Martha laugh behind him. “You’re letting all the cold air in, boys. Come on. Invite him inside.” 

 

He nodded a little, but didn’t let go completely, just pulled Alex inside and kicked the door shut gently, finally glancing back to Martha to notice that she had been recording them this entire time. He couldn’t even be upset. He was trying to keep himself from crying from the surprise. 

 

She laughed again and rolled her eyes, finishing her video. “I’ll go make sure the kids aren’t suspicious. Dad already knows he’s here. Merry Christmas, Jack.” She grinned and blew them each a kiss. Alex returned the gesture, and before he knew it, he was being tugged upstairs by an overly excited John. 

 

“How did you get here?” 

 

“Laf. He said this was his Christmas present to the two of us. He got in contact with Martha and your dad both, planned everything… I hope you don’t mind?” Alex gave a bit of a shy smile, leaning against the wall of John’s room when the door shut behind the both of them. They both knew they couldn’t hide away from his family for long, but it was just long enough for Alex to get settled in and dressed in something a little more comfortable again. “So… If it’s okay with you, I’ll be here through New Years, my flight leaves again a week before break is over.”

 

“God, _god_ , Alex, of course I don’t mind.” John choked out and laughed softly, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes before he pulled Alex close and gently pressed their lips together. 

 

It felt like it had been ages, when in reality it had just been a few weeks. That was a few weeks too long, nonetheless. 

 

“I’m so glad that you want me to stay here.” He laughed and kissed him again and again, soft quick little pecks before he broke away and started digging around in his suitcase, slipping into his sweatpants rather than his jeans. “So… I guess it’s time to meet the family?”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure the kids are about to explode.” John rolled his eyes, but leaned in to steal one more kiss before he opened up the door again, met immediately with a loud whine from Ellie of “Where did Jack go! He’s been gone _forever_!”

 

He rolled his eyes a bit and smiled, squeezing Alex’s hand. “Good luck, babe.” He said gently to him, then sucked in a breath as he ushered him downstairs, just enough to catch Martha trying to explain his absence; 

 

“I know, honey. He’ll be right back down with another surprise though.” 

 

“A surprise?” She sounded so excited. John couldn’t keep from laughing softly. 

 

“Yeah, hopefully you’ll like it too.”

 

“Did it make Jack happy?” Ellie inquired, voice airy and bright. 

 

“Very.” Martha chuckled. 

 

“Then I’ll like it too!” 

 

He could hear the boys laugh a little bit at that as well, and he gave Alex’s hand one final squeeze before they had to part upon rounding the corner. Henry actually smiled at the two of them, pleased to see his son so happy. The look on Martha’s face was more knowing, but she easily kept that to herself. The boys were intrigued, but not nearly as much as the youngest, who was bouncing where she sat, holding one of her new stuffed toys tight to her chest. 

 

“Who are you!” She didn’t so much ask as demand the information, very loudly. John shushed her lightly and took his seat again, Alex sitting next to him. 

 

“This is my roommate from school. My best friend, Alex Hamilton.” John grinned, and Alex sat on the edge of the couch, giving a bright smile of his own and waving to the youngest. 

 

“Oh! The one you’ve been talking to every night on the camera!” Ellie grinned that big, bright, toothless smile. John laughed and nodded, watching as she clambered to her feet and walked over to him, holding out her hand to him. “I’m Mary Eleanor! Ellie!” She introduced, bright and proud. 

 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Ellie.” Alex smiled and took her hand, gently kissing the back of it. That earned him a squeal of both approval and excitement, an eager glance between himself and John, then her launching forward to wrap around him. 

 

“I like him, Jacky! Keep him!” 

 

John snorted out a laugh and rolled his eyes. “I plan to, little angel.” He assured, then scooped her off of him and into his lap. “Boys, say hello.” He instructed, glancing at his brothers. They shared a glance and nodded, the elder one standing and approaching. 

 

“Alex, Jack’s told us a lot about you. I’m Henry. Harry.” He held out his hand, giving Alex’s a firm shake before James nudged him out of the way, holding tight to the book he had just unwrapped even as he introduced himself. 

 

“James, Jaz. It’s a pleasure.” 

 

“It’s nice to meet both of you.” Alex smiled and shook each of their hands, then glanced over to Martha. “It’s good to finally see you face to face, Marcy. And Mr. Laurens, sir.” He turned to face Henry, smiling and standing to shake his hand as well. “Thank you for allowing me to spend the holidays with your family.” He said sweetly, charming as ever. 

 

Shit, John was enamored. 

 

Henry stood as well, shaking Alex’s hand quickly. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Jack’s told us a lot of pleasant things about you. Thank you for being good to my boy.” 

 

“Of course sir.” He nodded and smiled, watching Henry as he turned to walk out of the room and back into the kitchen, which reminded John;

 

“Right! Kids, breakfast, come on!” He urged, setting Ellie down and standing himself, herding them all into the kitchen. “You showed up right on time. I still haven’t opened the gifts you sent home with me, I was saving them for Skype tonight.” John chuckled. 

 

Alex grinned and followed them all into the dining room. “I brought the ones from you along with me, don’t worry. And a few more from Laf that he hid around before he left.” He rolled his eyes. “God knows what he could have found for us.”

 

“We can get to those after breakfast? I’m sure the kids are gonna grill you about _everything_.” John warned softly and bumped their hips together as he passed him into the dining room. 

 

~~

 

After an eventful family breakfast, Alex found kinship with both of the boys. Harry was more shy and bookish, currently working his way through classic literature, which Alex was happy to talk to him about. They had common interests in genre, and both of them had a soft spot for _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ and _Dracula_. John took the opportunity to poke fun at his boyfriend, saying that his only interest in Dracula came because he, too, was a nocturnal creature who shied away from sunlight and thrived off of the misery of others. 

 

Alex just swatted at him and pouted. 

 

John resisted laughing and swatted back, earning a soft laugh from Martha, and an eye-roll from his father. Just another kid in the house. Nothing he couldn’t handle. 

 

His bond with Jaz came with the fact that both were incredibly outspoken and passionate about whatever they had to say, and they had quite a few common issues they bantered about together. John was absolutely delighted to see everyone getting along so wonderfully. 

 

The rest of the day went on without a hitch, John playing video games with the boys, new ones that he had got them for their PlayStation, and Alex now stuck playing with Ellie and her new dolls. 

She made Alex play as Maui, coveting the Moana doll for herself. 

 

Thank god John and Alex had seen the movie before break, or he would be in trouble.

 

At one point, John overheard the little one going silent, then giggling a bit to herself. When Alex inquired as to why, she grinned and looked up at him. “You sound like the one talking fast in the end of the movie.” 

 

John snorted out a laugh at that and rolled his eyes, watching the puzzlement on Alexander’s face. He honestly didn’t know how to read that, but she seemed excited enough about her revelation, so he left it alone. 

 

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, John and Alex switching positions here and there so one could play Battlefield and the other could play Barbie. It was wonderful. John loved the pure domesticity of it all, honestly, and he couldn’t help but let his mind slip to the potential of himself and Alexander having a family one day. 

 

Anything was possible, he supposed. 

 

The evening went by quickly, with John excusing himself for just a moment to his room, preparing a surprise for Alex, for whenever they ended up heading back to bed. Soon enough they were all settled in for dinner, and John and Alex did their best not to sigh or roll their eyes when Henry told them all to bow their heads down and pray. Neither of them were very religious, after all, but it was better not to raise a fuss with Henry about it, especially considering how nice the rest of the day had been, and the fact that Henry had allowed Alex to stay with them in the first place. It was best not to risk anything. 

 

Dinner was quiet, nice. The kids were all exhausted from such an energetic day, and from meeting someone new. It wasn’t long until they were all tucked into bed and fast asleep. John checked on each of them before settling downstairs with his father, Martha, and Alex. 

Henry had decided, in the spirit of the holidays, that the three could share a drink with him, so Alex had prepared them each a hard hot chocolate, mixing Fireball in-- _“It’s cinnamon. A little bit of Chili powder and it’s pretty much Mexican hot chocolate, duh, John.”_ \--and settling into his place on the couch, John in between himself and Martha. They sat in content silence, sipping at their drinks, and slowly but surely, Henry and Martha both went to bed. John gave a sweet smile to Alex once they were alone, nudging him gently. 

 

“You ready to go upstairs, have our own little Christmas?” He offered softly. There was still an hour left, it would be nice to just go open their presents to one another and snuggle up after such a long day.

 

“Yeah, god, please.” Alex chuckled, feeling warm and content from the hard cocoa. He got up and grabbed the two empty mugs from the coffee table, taking them into the kitchen while John set about making sure the fire went out. Soon enough, both of them were tiptoeing upstairs and sneaking into John’s room. 

 

Remembering his little ploy, he stopped in the doorway and turned to face Alex with a sly grin. When Alex cocked his head in silent questioning, John simply pointed up. 

 

A sprig of mistletoe with a single berry hanged above their heads. Alex beamed a bright grin to John and reached up to pluck the little berry off of the plant, then got up on his toes to kiss John. 

 

John wrapped his arms around Alex and held him in the kiss for a quick moment, then tugged him inside and carefully closed the door behind them. 

 

“You ready to open our gifts?” Alex asked softly.

 

“In a minute.” John responded gently, pressing his nose into Alex’s hair and humming. “I don’t think I’m done kissing you quite yet.” 

 

Never one to say no to that, Alex pulled John down to his level and pressed their lips together again, holding him there and sighing contentedly, not letting the kiss get too deep or heated. He didn’t want the occasion to get too heavy. 

 

When they finally broke apart, John’s eyes were glittering, and a little bit teary. “I still can’t believe you’re here. This is just.. It’s too good to be true, you know?” He murmured softly and pulled Alex back towards his bed. 

 

“Yeah, for sure… I can’t believe Laf did this for us.” Alex chuckled, settling on John’s lap and snuggling up to him for the time being. “I guess you can’t deny it when I call him your sugar daddy now, can you?”

 

John made a face and swatted at him, still laughing softly. “Ew. Shit, you’re right. Goddamn.” He whined a little, but ended up laughing and leaning into Alex’s touches. “I just wanted to have a nice Christmas with my boyfriend and you have to bring my not-sugar daddy into it.”

 

“I just work with what you two give me.” He teased and kissed him softly. 

 

“Shh.” John laughed against his lips and nipped one of them. “Should we do our presents now?” 

 

“Yeah, sounds fun.” Alex smiled and nosed at his neck before slipping off of his lap, going to his suitcase to grab what John had gifted him, then grabbing his gift to John from his desk. He returned and snuggled onto John’s plush bed, giving out a contented sigh and smiling as he wrapped one of John’s blankets around himself and handed over the gift. 

 

“You first.” John insisted gently and kissed his nose, wrapping a different blanket around his shoulders and snuggling down into it. 

 

With careful fingers, Alex untied the ribbon around the package, and carefully opened the wrapping paper. The box beneath it was just as cute. Leave it to John to go overboard with the wrapping. He chuckled slightly and took the top of it off, eyes widening a bit at what he saw. 

 

Leather-bound copies of _Dracula_ and _Dorian Grey_ stared up at him, with another little thing wrapped all on it’s own, tucked in between them. He gently reached down to grab it, unwrapping it from the tissue paper bindings, then gasping when a pen fell into his hand. The body of it was silver, with beautiful etchings all along it, and when he uncapped it, a delicate fountain tip stated back at him. 

 

“Oh my god, John.” He let out a gentle breath and smiled back up to him, eyes glittering. “These are gorgeous.” He pulled one of the books out and traced his fingers over the cover, over the etched in letterings and gold leaf pressed down into them. They were absolutely amazing. 

 

“Your copies at home were falling apart..” He chuckled. “I thought an upgrade-” Midway into his sentence, Alex caught his lips in a gentle kiss, squeezing both of his hands and smiling. 

 

“They’re perfect. More than perfect. Thank you so much, John.” He murmured, lips brushing John’s as he spoke. “Your turn now.” 

 

John reluctantly pulled away from the kisses and took the box into his hands again, fingers brushing along the edge of it until he snagged a bit of tape, carefully peeling it off and glancing into the box. 

There sat a necklace, intricately carved and detailed, in the shape of a heart. It looked to be platinum or steel. John carefully lifted it from the box, eyes glittering. “Oh, wow.” He said on a breath, eyes wide.

 

“Open it.” Alex said softly, fidgeting a bit until he had pulled an identical piece from under his shirt, tapping the little button on the side of it. 

 

Inside of it rested two photos, about two years old at this point. 

Photocopies of both polaroids they had taken after their first date. 

 

John’s eyes welled up with tears and a soft gasp escaped his lips. “Alex, I… Oh my god.” He looked up at him as one of the tears fell down his cheek, seeing Alex holding his charm open, identical photos in his. 

He all but leapt forward and wrapped around Alex, nose pressed against his neck. “Thank you so much, this is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me.” He whispered softly, holding him as tight as he could in their positions. Alex shifted to lay back, pulling John down with him so he could hold him closer. He carefully took the locket from John’s hand, brushing his curls out of the way so he could clasp it around his neck. 

 

“I’m so glad you like it… I was so afraid it would be too much.” He admitted. 

 

John let out a soft, almost choked laugh, hiding his face against Alex’s chest. “Absolutely not. It’s the sweetest, most amazing thing.” He murmured and held him tighter, sniffling a little. 

 

Alex almost felt bad. He didn’t expect John to cry. 

 

At least they were happy tears. 

 

He wiped them from John’s cheeks and kissed his forehead, fluffing his hair back into place and nosing at his curls, rubbing small circles on his back until John shifted to kiss him again. 

 

“I love you so much, Alexander Hamilton.” He cooed.

 

“I love you too, John Laurens.” Alex cooed back and chuckled, smiling against his lips. 

 

It wasn’t exactly how either of them expected their first Christmas to be, but here they were, tangled limbs in an oversized bed, whispering sweet nothings to one another until sleep took both of them. 

They wouldn’t have changed any of it for the world. 

 

~~

 

“Jack, why did I see you with mistletoe last night?” Ellie piped up the next morning after breakfast, swinging her feet as she spoke. She looked up at John with sparkling eyes and a grin. 

John could feel himself go a bit pale. “I.. Don’t know what you mean.” He tried to excuse immediately. Alex carefully hooked their ankles under the table, out of sight, but enough that John felt comforted by his presence. 

 

“Jacky, don’t be mean, I saw you and Alex last night! You had mistletoe and he kissed you!” Ellie chirped, looking between the two of them with a bright smile. She didn’t have any idea what she was doing wrong. That’s what made it worse. 

 

John glanced at her, soon feeling Martha’s hand on his beneath the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze, but all of his confidence in whatever answer he was formulating went away just as soon as it came. 

 

“Yes, Jack. Indulge us. Why were you and Alexander _kissing_ under the mistletoe, hm?” His father frowned, brow raised. His fingers tapped a bit impatiently against the mug of coffee in his hands. 

John was absolutely, irrevocably fucked. 

 

He felt like a deer in headlights, a fish out of water, any number of things that were completely doomed. 

He felt like a closeted gay boy in a Southern, Republican, and Catholic household. And goddamn if that wasn’t the worst feeling. 

 

Martha squeezed his hand. Alex was doing his best not to touch John at risk of making the situation worse on him. He had no idea what he could do to help, so for once, he stayed out of it and bit his tongue, hard as that was. 

 

John considered lying. Considered saying it was the liquor making him act stupidly, but when he finally forced himself to look at Alex, well.. He couldn’t lie about that. He couldn’t lie about Alex.

 

He sucked in a deep breath and kept his gaze cast downward. 

 

“Alexander is my boyfriend.”

 

You could have heard a pin drop in that room. 

 

Henry’s expression soured further, and he didn’t say another word, just stood from his seat and left the room. 

 

Ellie looked around in confusion, brows knitting tight. She didn’t understand the issue. She had no idea why her father would be so upset by that, or why John would look so sad. Wasn’t a boyfriend a good thing? Everyone on TV had boyfriends, Martha had a boyfriend before. Why couldn’t John have one too? 

 

While John would have found that train of thought reassuring at any other time, well… There really wasn’t much that could fix this now. 

 

~~

 

A couple of hours passed, the elder children and Alexander sitting in silence while Jaz played with Ellie. Harry was off doing his own thing somewhere. None of his siblings were upset with this new revelation, thank god, Harry and Martha both congratulated John after Henry had left. Now that he was out, John spent the rest of that time curled up and close to Alex, hands absently playing at his skin. 

 

The silence was nice, despite the screaming in John’s mind, the absolute terror he was going through. He had no idea how his father would respond. Sure, he still had his siblings, it seemed, but did he really if his father decided against that? There was only so much Martha could do to make sure they stayed in contact. 

And what about Alex? What if Henry kicked him out? 

John’s free hand absently went to the locket from Alex, holding it and tracing over the patterns in an attempt to calm himself down. 

Right when it began to help, he heard that all-too-familiar gruff voice from the office down the hall. 

 

“Jack!”

 

Fuck. 

 

He sucked in a deep breath and glanced between Martha and Alex. They both gave him a reassuring look, Alex squeezing his hand and Martha squeezing his arm. 

 

Alex pulled him into a soft kiss before he left. “Whatever happens in there, I still love you. I’ll do whatever I can to help if it gets bad, okay?” He murmured. 

 

John nodded and rested their foreheads together, jumping back to attention when he heard another loud and substantially more irritated shout of his name. 

 

“Good luck.” Martha muttered to him as he walked out, sucking in a deep breath. 

 

He approached the opened office door, his father staring at him with an obvious frown on his face. “Shut the door, Jack.” He did as he was told, then sat down across from the elder man, keeping his eyes on his hands, which he had folded in his lap.

 

“Did you plan to tell me about your relationship?” He asked immediately, looking up at him in a mixture of irritation and disappointment. 

 

“Probably not, sir, no.” He said softly, biting his lip and keeping his gaze away as much as he possibly could. He didn’t know what was worse, the confrontation, the fear, or the guilt. He bit his lip hard, waiting for the worst. 

 

“I can’t say I’m pleased with this development,” He began, tapping at his desk as he spoke. John knit his brow as he continued. “And I’m incredibly disappointed in you.” 

 

John expected that. 

 

Didn’t make it hurt any less. 

 

What came next, though, he didn’t expect at all. 

 

“But you’re still my son, I still love you.”

 

“What?” He actually looked up, brows raised.

 

“I’m disappointed that you lied to me. That you kept this a secret. You know how I feel about… _this_ , but you’re still my boy. I don’t like that the two of you are staying together, not at all, but I can’t do much while you’re in New York.” His expression stayed stone cold, stoic. “But while you’re in my home, he’s staying in the guest room.” 

 

“In the--” John knit his brow, sure that he misheard that. “Sir?”

 

“Yes. In the guest room. I don’t want any of these antics under my roof, boyfriend, girlfriend, it doesn’t matter. Not in my home. He’s staying in the guest room until he leaves.” 

 

John stared at him in slack-jawed shock. That didn’t even seem real. 

 

“Go help him move his things, Jack. We aren’t done talking about this, but… He’s already here. Go, spend time with him and your siblings.”

 

“I-... Of course. Of course. Yessir. Thank you.” He bowed his head in an appreciative gesture before getting up and nearly bolting out of the room. 

 

This must have been a dream. 

 

He hurried back into the living room, looking shell-shocked to say the least, and returned to his spot between Alex and Martha. 

 

“Alex can stay. He.. Didn’t disown me.” He said softly so only the two could hear him. Martha looked surprised, but Alex was straight up shocked. 

 

“What happened?” They each urged, Alex more frantic than Martha’s curious intonation. 

 

“He… Doesn’t approve, but Alex can stay. In the guest room, but still… He said that…” He stopped, actually feeling his eyes burning a little. He sniffed a bit when they welled up, a smile faintly crossing his lips. “He said he was disappointed, but that I’m still his son and he loves me.” John said softly. 

 

Henry rarely said that to any of the kids. Especially not after their mother passed. 

 

He shook that out of his mind. “We’re going to talk about it again once Alex leaves, but..” Finally, John gave a real smile, falling against Alex, who wrapped around him immediately. He squeezed him close and kissed his forehead. There weren’t any words to describe how happy he was that Henry didn’t go ballistic as he always expected, that Henry… Well… Henry kept him in his life. 

 

Maybe it was the holiday magic. 

 

Either way, it didn’t matter much to John. 

As he sat there, squished between his eldest sister and his boyfriend, the love of his life, watching his baby sister and brothers playing amongst themselves, with the weight of that secret off of his back and the knowledge that he didn’t have to hide anymore. Even after all that stress, well...

 

This was definitely one of the best holidays of John’s life.

**Author's Note:**

> heyo   
> i hope you guys like it, comment and lemme know what you think   
> I hope you don't mind the spin with Henry Sr.? Like so many people make him out to be a fucking monster, I kinda wanted to mix it up a little bit. 
> 
> Anyway come talk to me on tumblr dot com and send me some holiday prompts for the fic series I'm helping with 
> 
> paperthinrevolutionary on there too. 
> 
> until next time, happy holidays, y'all. 
> 
> -krys


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